Explore This Park

Alerts In Effect

Contact Us

Prairie Animals (K-6)

Prairie Animals traveling trunk for grades K-6 and its contents.

NPS Doris Martin

Prairie Animals traveling trunk was designed by Homestead National Monument of America park staff. This trunk uses student-centered activities to increase student's knowledge of the prairie animals homesteaders would have encountered moving west to claim land under the Homestead Act of 1862. The trunk contains resources for educators to use in a classroom environment. It integrates written and oral activies, detective skills, photo analysis and scat to enhance your student's learning.

The trunk includes curriculum materials, tracks, scat, animal furs and animals skulls that can be integrated into science, art, reading, and language arts curriculum. Additionally, the curriculum materials include student station sheets, so students can rotate stations without the teacher having to repeat instructions.

Herbie, a Buddy Bison, travels with the Prairie Animals K-6 traveling trunk. He records all of his adventures. Be sure if you request this trunk that you email photos and stories of his adventures with your class. Your class can then track his travels all year long.